When does a city actually become a city? 🤔 It’s an easy question with a complicated answer — especially for Las Vegas. Indigenous tribes roamed the region for centuries before the Las Vegas Paiute Colony was established in 1911. The Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort became the first permanent non-native settlement when it was built in 1855 — nine years before the Nevada Territory became a state — but the Utah pioneers who lived there didn’t stick around long.
The Vegas we know today dates back to when a railroad line between Salt Lake City and Southern California established a pivotal stop in what is now Downtown. The railroad company auctioned off 110 acres of land on May 15, 1905 — a date everyone accepts as the official founding of Las Vegas.
But when Las Vegas was officially incorporated as a city isn’t as clear. According to Wikipedia, the City of Las Vegas was incorporated on March 16, 1911. That’s 115 years ago today! Slice the cake and pour me a shot of moonshine 🎂 🥃 PBS agrees. So does the Encyclopedia Britannica — and the British know everything.
Right?
Well, the official City of Las Vegas timeline, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and other sources beg to differ, saying the incorporation actually happened a few months later on June 1, 1911.
So, what gives? My schedule is tight and my microfiche skills aren’t what they used to be, so instead of doing more research, I cut to the chase and asked UNLV History Professor Michael Green to clarify.
June 1 is the date that Las Vegas officially became a city by a vote of the population here. March 16 is the day Gov. Tasker Oddie signed the bill allowing the city to vote on whether to do that. So the incorporation date is June 1.
Michael Green, UNLV Associate Professor of History
Alright. Put the cake away. (Leave the moonshine.) We’ll reconvene on June 1.
- Maybe we should just stick with May 15 🎂 The original land auction is worth celebrating, especially since it gave us the Golden Gate, the oldest casino in Las Vegas. [City Cast Las Vegas ✍️]
- At least we can all agree tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day. [City Cast Las Vegas ✍️]
